


One Word Prompts

by misspronounced



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Jealousy, M/M, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-06 05:37:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5405021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misspronounced/pseuds/misspronounced
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Eames have always a thing with each other and they fumble around before realizing they're in love. Also Arthur is just as flirty and Eames can't control himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Word Prompts

**Author's Note:**

> I am sucker for friends with benefits to falling in love stories, so here's another one! I took ten words and wrote a series of related ficlets. Let me know if you have some one word prompts you want me to write! 
> 
> Enjoy!!

**Bullet**

Eames was shoved hard against a cold marble wall in the lobby of a skyscraper. Why couldn’t Ariadne choose a more forgiving material? He wasn’t pushed hard enough to knock the wind out of him, but it definitely wasn’t pleasant. He looked over his shoulder to see who assaulted him. Arthur. Well, this was interesting. 

“How’d you know I like it rough, darling?” Eames teased, hoping it would make Arthur shy and release him. But Arthur just leaned close to speak low in his ear. 

“The mark is suspicious of you. I told her that I’m in the FBI and I would investigate you.” Arthur’s voice was authoritative and it only served to make Eames’ pants tighter. 

“How do you plan to investigate me, hmm?” 

“Frisk you.” Arthur said, voice even and calm. That bastard. “So put your palms flat on the wall and spread your legs.” 

Eames did what he was told because this was too good to be true. He was indulging himself more at this point than Arthur. 

Arthur began the slow torture of running his burning hands over Eames’ arms, then over his shoulders, down his back, and around to grope his chest. The forger tried his best not to squirm or moan; he could only hope that he was successful. Then Arthur’s hands continued down Eames’ hips, avoiding his behind, and squeezed down each leg. He was almost done with his investigation as he drug his hands up the front of Eames’ thighs. He felt hardness on the inside of Eames’ thigh and his hand continued until it was at his waistband. Arthur pushed Eames’ jacket out of the way and wrapped his fingers around the handle of a gun and pulled it out of where it was tucked in the forger’s trousers. Instead of a quick extraction, Arthur tipped the gun’s barrel slightly to rub against Eames’ own hardness, making him hiss. 

“And I thought you were just happy to see me,” Arthur breathed. 

“Always,” Eames replied, voice wrecked. 

All at once all contact from Arthur was gone and Eames had to control himself to keep from whining. 

“I’m sorry, but you have to go.” Eames heard the click of the hammer and knew very well what was coming next. 

“Sweet dreams.” Then in a split second, with the help of a bullet, Eames woke up. 

**Winter**

It was cold. It was the middle of winter in Ireland and it was snowing. So Arthur - practical as ever - decided to wear a beanie to keep his easily chilled ears warm. No one commented as they were wrapped in their own winter gear. That’s until Eames arrived. As per usual he strolled in 10 minutes late, this time with a ridiculously big scarf hanging loosely around his neck - probably not warming him at all. 

Eames waltzed over to the point man who looked up to acknowledge him, but Eames had a too wide smile on his face to start the morning off normally. Arthur braced himself.

Eames laid his hand on the beanie, “Arthur you look…” he trailed off. 

“What? Like a cancer patient? Like a bank robber?” Arthur filled in. 

“Not at all. I was going to say adorable,” he answered as he leaned down to kiss Arthur’s red nose and moved away quickly knowing he would be in the danger zone. Arthur immediately swiped at him like a cat, but missed so he just gave a disgruntled glare. No one had ever described the point man as ‘adorable’ before. 

Eames spun on his heel and walked over to the rest of the team, “I think winter is my new favorite season!” 

**Cruelty**

It was Ariadne’s idea to go to the most crowded club they could find in Auckland. She wanted a lot of people, sweating and grinding to loud music with too much bass and where she could easily get free drinks. Eames and Arthur accompanied her to keep an eye out so she didn’t get kidnapped, but let her grind on and make out with as many strangers as she wanted. 

After an hour or so they all took a short break and sat down in a booth. Ariadne was sufficiently drunk but hadn’t gotten her fill of dancing yet. 

“Arthur,” she slurred as she rested her head on his shoulder and hugged his arm. 

“Yes?” Arthur asked humoring Ariadne. He knew they wouldn’t do anything; she was safe. Besides Arthur’s eyes tended to fall onto another co worker. 

“Can you dance with me, all the other guys are too aggressive.” 

“Sure,” he answered, feeling pleasantly warm and loose with alcohol. All three of them stood up, Ariadne dragging Arthur by the hand to the dance floor while Eames went to the bar. Arthur made sure to be in the the forger’s line of sight. 

“Often” by The Weekend came on and transitioned the pace to something slower and sensual. They fell into the rhythm naturally, with Arthur holding Ari close to his body by her hips, back to front. The beat and risque lyrics dictated the side to side sway of their hips. Once they were perfectly in sync, Ari leaned her head back onto Arthur’s shoulder. 

Arthur kept his eyes straight and focused - his intense gaze was met with Eames’ stare from the bar. Even though people walked in front of them, their gaze never broke. Eames swallowed hard as he watched Arthur mouth the words of the song like he wrote those incredibly sexual words. As the song continued, Arthur’s hips began rolled with more vigor, as if he forgot Ari was the one grinding on him, which went unnoticed by her but made Eames’ eyes go dark while he licked his lips. 

The song ended and Ari turned around, praising Arthur on his unexpectedly good rhythm, but Arthur only half listened as he excused himself to the bar. 

When Arthur got to the bar he picked up the glass waiting for him and took a long swig and setting it down too hard. He looked at Eames with hooded eyes and bit his lip. 

Eames swept back a stray lock of hair from Arthur’s sweaty forehead. “Darling, you look like jailbait right now. You better be careful who you get hot and bothered. One may be so inclined to take advantage of you.” 

Arthur leaned into the forger’s space, just an inch away. “What if I want to be taken advantage of?” The point man had the audacity to sound innocent as he brushed his knuckles against Eames’ obvious bulge, making him tip his head back and groan. 

“You’re a cruel man.” 

“Looks like you could use a little help,” Arthur whispered sinnfully and then pushed off Eames and made his way to the bathroom. Eames had no choice but to follow. 

**Uncle**

Really it wasn’t necessary to have a sparring session, but nonetheless Arthur and Eames found themselves in an abandoned gym. Both dressed in baggy gym shorts and muscle shirts and taped hands to avoid split knuckles. They were the best partners for each other out of the team, because they both knew mixed martial arts. 

They started off doing a silent back and forth dance, sizing each other up, planning their attacks. Each landed a few punches and kicks, but nothing substantial. Eames faked out Arthur and while he was caught off guard launched for him and brought the point man down to the ground. Eames wrestled Arthur, who was struggling to regain control but failing, and got behind him to hook his elbows over Arthur’s shoulders and lace his fingers behind his head. 

“Give up?” Eames asked as he held Arthur in the full nelson. 

“No way,” Arthur scoffs. That cued Eames to pull Arthur backwards so when when they were horizontal, Eames wound his legs around Arthur’s body and squeezed. 

“Ow, okay! Uncle! Uncle!” Arthur yelled and was released from the the forger’s death grip, he could’ve gotten out of the hold but he didn’t feel like putting in the effort. He rolled off Eames onto his back, taking a moment to catch their breath. 

In one swift move, Eames straddled Arthur and had both hands pinned above his head and sat there grinning down at him. 

“What are you going to do now?” Arthur asked, a challenge in his voice. 

“I have a few ideas,” Eames smirked and wiggled his eyebrows up and down, making Arthur laugh.

Arthur widened his eyes, feigning fear, “Oh please Mr. Eames, go easy on me!” 

Eames leaned down so his mouth was against Arthur’s ear, “I’ll go as hard I as want, and you’ll love every second of it.” The words and gruffness of Eames’ voice together made Arthur’s whole body shiver. 

**College**

Arthur and Eames posed as Ariadne’s family friends at her graduation - even though they sat nowhere near Ari’s family and they had no idea clue who they were. Cobb came too, but he did know Ari’s family so he got to sit with them. It was for the better, really, that Arthur and Eames were separate from them, or maybe it was just Eames that needed separation. 

Throughout the first hour and a half of the ceremony Eames did not sit still or refrain from talking for a solid five minutes. 

“Shh, you can be quiet, you’re not five,” Arthur scolded under his breath. 

“But I am bored out of my skull, Arthur,” Eames whined back, earning him a punch in the thigh. “Ow! Now look who’s being immature? At least I’m not hitting you.” Eames sat back crossing his arms and sulked. 

Eames’ silence lasted all of three minutes. “Hey, I think Ari’s got the hots for the class president.” 

“What? You’re mixing up your stories with reality, again,” Arthur replied. 

“I’m serious! She gave him an extra long hug when he sat back down after his speech. Now she’s giving him heart eyes,” Eames added. 

“We can’t even see her face from back here.”

“Details, darling, details. Plus given the context it’s obvious her little brown eyes are as wide as can be.”

Arthur shot him a look, “You’re ridiculous”. Eames just laughed. 

A minute later, “Where’s the craziest place you’ve had sex at your college?” Eames whispered to Arthur. 

“Oh my God,” the point man groaned. I’m sure you wouldn’t be surprised to know that my college years weren’t as _colorful_ as yours.” 

“I once fucked a stage hand in the rafters of the theater at my Uni. Poor chap almost fell right over the railing.” Eames said and prided himself for making Arthur hide a laugh. 

“I had sex in my school’s library,” Arthur whispered back. “In the theology section.” 

“I’m impressed.” There was a moment of silence and Eames added, “I’d love to fuck you in a library. Only because I know how hard it is for you to stay quiet.” 

“Eames. Enough,” Arthur snapped, but the arousal was clear in his voice. 

“Shall we go to the library now? There’s still an hour left of this thing.” 

Arthur cleared his throat and sat quiet for a minute, waiting for an appropriate pause in the ceremony and stood up. “I need to use the restroom, you?” Arthur asked as he looked down at the forger - his eyes clearly did not read ‘restroom’. 

“Good idea,” Eames replied as he stood up and followed Arthur out of the row they were sitting in. 

**Replacement**

It was about six months after inception that the whole team got back together, all with the help of Saito. He invited them all to the penthouse of his business building in Japan for the annual ball his company throws. 

All of them showed up - Arthur, Cobb, Yusuf, Ariadne, and Eames. They were allowed a plus one, so Ariadne brought her best friend, Yusuf brought his brother, Cobb and Eames came alone, and Arthur had a slender brunette woman on his arm. 

Ariadne introduced her friend, Margo, to Eames and started talking like old friends instead of co-criminals.

“Who’s that with Arthur?” Ari asked. 

“I don’t have any idea,” Eames replied. Ari watched his eyes - they looked calculating, the same look he has when he’s studying a forge. He then excused himself to go over to the couple when there was an opening. 

“Mr. Eames,” Arthur said cordially as soon as the forger approached. 

“Hello, Arthur. Now who might this lovely lady be?” Eames asked focusing his attention on Arthur’s date. 

“Sasha, pleasure to meet the famous Mr. Eames. Arthur has told me a few stories,” Sascha replied, her tone was casual but confident - much like Arthur’s. 

“Not too many bad things I hope,” Eames joked, he glanced at Arthur and knew he caught the irony. “So are you two -?” 

“Dating,” Arthur supplied smiling down at Sasha as he pulled her close. “For four months now?” 

“Yup, he’s unlike any other. I plan to keep him,” Sasha smiled as she leaned closer to Arthur and put a hand on his chest. 

“You picked a good one. I’m going to find Yusuf. Arthur, good to see you, let’s catch up later, yeah? And Sasha, lovely to meet you, darling.” Eames punctuated his statements with a handshake for Arthur and kiss on the cheek for Sasha and swiftly strode away. 

Eames quickly found Yusuf, alone, who explained that his brother already found a girl to go after for the night. 

“Mate, are you drinking?” Eames clapped Yusuf on the back. 

“If it’ll help ease the second hand embarrassment from my brother,”

“Great. Let’s get pissed.” 

Five drinks later, Eames was at a good balance of drunk and coherent. By the third drink Cobb joined them. Eames scanned the penthouse and saw Arthur heading towards the exit, so he excused himself and followed, seizing his chance to catch the point man alone. 

Then it was Arthur and Eames alone in an dim hallway. 

“Having fun, Eames?” Arthur asked casually. 

“Could be better, honestly.” Eames stared at Arthur, as if trying to figure him out. Then, more out of lack of impulse control than anything else, he crowded Arthur against a wall and caged him within his arms. “Although, you can help with that.” 

Arthur didn’t flinch, just looked at Eames with no expression. Only when Eames leaned in, fully intending to capture Arthur’s lips, the point man stopped him with a firm hand on his chest. 

“Eames, this is off limits now. I have Sasha, I’m not going to cheat on her with an old fling.” 

Suddenly sober, Eames stepped back and huffed, “Right. She really is lovely. She suits you.” 

“I’m glad you think so.” Arthur stepped forward and grabbed Eames’ arms, waiting for him to meet his eyes. “You’re still one of my closest friends, don’t forget that.” 

“Of course not,” Eames nodded and Arthur gave him a small, reassuring smile and left the forger in the hallway alone. 

A month later Eames got a call from a the only number, besides his, that he memorized - Arthur. Eames quickly did the math of the time change and judged it was about 11 p.m. in the States. 

“Arthur,” Eames answered. 

“Hey.” Arthur didn’t sound right, something happened. 

“What’s happened?” Arthur smiled, relieved that Eames instinctively knew something was wrong and skipped the awkward small talk. 

“Sasha and I broke up.” 

“Oh that’s too bad. I actually liked her.” Eames sounded more upset by it than Arthur. 

“Yeah. We realized that we’re too similar. There needs to be some differences to keep things exciting.” 

“You have a point.” There was a moment of silence before Eames continued, “So why the call?” 

“Well it’s silly actually. You’re gonna think I’m pathetic,” Arthur said.

“I would never, darling,” Eames assured. 

“Well, she’s been my longest relationship besides-” Arthur cut off the sentence but Eames knew that he meant him. Even though they’ve never been in a relationship, but they have been . . . involved with each other for over three years. A spark of feelings shot through Eames that he’s been trying to repress ever since he met the point man. 

“Same here,” Eames admitted. 

“I miss you,” Arthur quietly confessed, “Can I see you?” 

“You can always see me, you know that,” Eames said with bravery but immediately felt he said too much. 

“I’ll get the first flight out to Mombasa.” 

“Call me when you land. I can’t wait.” 

“Me either,” Arthur said, a hint of a smile in his voice, and hung up, wasting no more time. 

**Mainstream**

Occasionally the team listened to the radio when their work didn’t require absolute silence and concentration. Having vastly different music tastes from each other, they agreed on the top 40 station - it was more for background noise anyway. 

One day while in a warehouse, everyone working on their own part of the job, the radio was on and Selena Gomez’s song “Good for You” came on. At the same time Eames was walking over to Arthur to ask something about the mark. He insistantly forgot his question when he saw Arthur bobbing his head and mouthing the words to the song. 

“Didn’t take you for a Selena fan, Arthur,” Eames forger smirked. 

Instead of a glare and a cover up he expected from Arthur, the point man looked Eames straight in the eye and sang out loud, _“I just wanna look good for ya, good for ya, uh uh”_. Eames promptly doubled over in laughter, making Arthur laugh too. It was moments like this, where Arthur gave back better than Eames dished out that the forger lived for. 

“You always do, love,” Eames said when he caught his breath. 

“Did you want to ask me something?” Arthur asked, voice still filled with laughter. 

“I did, but I completely forgot,” Eames admitted. 

**Hypocrisy**

The team were on a job in Rio during the summer. Arthur and Eames were trailing the mark who was at a resort he owned, by the pool sweet talking a waitress. They stayed a safe distance away at the outdoor bar across from the pool, blending in wearing board shorts and sunglasses. While Arthur wore a tank top claiming he’d stick out like a sore thumb with his pale skin, Eames opted to go shirtless, which didn’t help Arthur’s concentration.

A handsome Brazilian with a nicely toned body came up to the bar next to Eames. He smirked, noticing Eames’ appreciative once over. 

“Vacationing?” The local said in a heavy accent. 

“Equal parts business and pleasure,” Eames replied with a smirk of his own. 

“Have you explored the nightlife? Rio comes alive after the sun sets,” The man spoke, making his sentence sound wistful and poetic. 

“Not yet.” 

“Well why don’t I show you what Rio can offer? I can meet you here, say 10?” 

Always one for a good time and a handsome face, Eames accepted. “It’s a date.” 

“See you then -” the sentence trailed off, giving the signal for Eames to introduce himself. 

“Eames.” 

“You can call me Marco,” Marco said and he took ahold of Eames’ chin and planted a quick kiss on his lips, turned and left, leaving the forger looking after him in shock. 

Eames turned back to Arthur by his side, who had gone unnoticed during the whole interaction. 

“Marco?” Arthur said unimpressed with one eyebrow raised. 

“Brazilians are very friendly,” Eames supplied lamely, trying his best to be casual. 

“You’re not gonna meet him tonight are you?” 

Eames shrugged and took a sip from his drink. “Why not, we’re in Rio. I’d like to see the nightlife.” 

“You can’t be serious. That’s a dangerous move,” Arthur warned. 

“He seems harmless, what’s wrong with a little fun?” 

Arthur scoffed, “you’re such a fucking hypocrite, you know that?” 

“How?” 

“You’re the one who said not to hook up with anyone on during a job. We can never be too safe. We don’t who’s dangerous and who’s not.” 

“Whatever, Arthur. I’m gonna be a hypocrite tonight then. I need to loosen up, you should try it.” 

“Christ,” Arthur cursed under his breath. “Hope you have a great fucking time then.” He got up to leave the bar, but Eames interrupted him. 

“Like you’re one to talk, hooking up with the mark’s daughter right after that job in Denmark!” Eames knew he went too far; Arthur spun around and ripped off his sunglasses to properly stare Eames down. 

“Fuck you,” Arthur gritted out and walked away. 

Eames finished his drink and let Arthur get a head start, knowing he would be heading to his room. When he got to Arthur’s room he let himself in with the spare key card. Following the sound of running water, Eames found Arthur leaning over the sink with wet hair - a desperate attempt at calming himself down. 

Without a word, Eames trapped Arthur against the sink with his body and the point man tensed and tried to push back. 

“Get off me,” Arthur snapped. That only made Eames press into Arthur harder with his hips, breathing hot breath against his neck. 

“Do you really want me to go?” With that, the forger slid a hand over the front of Arthur’s board shorts and pressed a hand hard to his growing hardness. 

Arthur responded with a hiss and let his head fall forward as he gritted his teeth, trying and failing to win the war between his head and his body. That was Eames’ signal to move on and slip his hand inside the shorts and stroke Arthur roughly to full hardness, which didn’t take long at all. Eames snatched the tiny bottle of complementary lotion off the counter and coated his fingers and quickly prepared Arthur. 

Arthur, growing equally more annoyed and aroused at the same time pushed against Eames’ fingers. “Get on with it,” Arthur huffed, so Eames slicked himself and pushed in none too gently. Neither lasted more than three minutes, all the angry energy adding to their arousal, pushing for release. Eames had Arthur’s shoulder in his mouth as he grunted and pounded the point man into the sink until he came with a shout; Arthur spilling over the hand the forger had wrapped around him soon after. 

They stood there pressed together for a minute, catching their breath and fixing their shorts. Eames pulled out and caught a drop of come that threatened to fall from Arthur’s hole and swiped it up into the crease of his ass. 

“Something to remember me by,” Eames rasped against Arthur’s ear and reached around him to turn the sink on and wash his hands. He stepped away from the point man, but before he could leave the bathroom, Arthur pushed Eames against the wall. 

“You better be in my bed tonight. Not Marco’s.” 

Eames shivered, “I love it when get angry, darling.” He grabbed Arthur’s neck and kissed him dirty, making it as filthy as possible, all tongue and teeth. The forger pushed the point man back off his mouth and made his way to the door, looking at Arthur over his shoulder, “come on, we have work to do.” 

**Resurface**

Arthur opened his eyes to a dimly lit room that felt cold and damp. His mouth was incredibly dry and it took a few moments to focus his eyes. He’s never felt so groggy in his life. 

He heard his name being called and it took a minute to find his voice. “Where am I?” He croaked, suddenly in desperate need of water. 

He felt someone sit down next to him on the bed he was laying on and pressed a bottle of water into his hand. Arthur chugged half the bottle before worrying about anything else. 

When he put the bottle down, he heard his name called again, this time able to respond. 

“Arthur,” the faceless voice said. Arthur would recognize that voice anywhere. 

“Eames,”he answered back blinking until the forger’s face came into focus. Eames had his brows furrowed deeply in worry and had dark circles under his eyes - not sleeping as long as Arthur has been. The point man reached for him and Eames took his hand without hesitation. 

“What happened? Where am I?” Arthur felt panic rise up. 

Eames swallowed and looked at Arthur carefully. “Arthur, you were in limbo. You were asleep for four days. A somnacin induced coma.” 

Arthur made a croaking sound, but sounding like he understood. 

“We knew you were limbo because we were all down together, and I watched you die in the dream, knowing what would happen.” Eames’ look of worry changed to sadness, so Arthur squeezed his hand tightly, not knowing what else to do. “How long was it for you?” 

“Um I’m not quite sure, but 25, 30 years?” Arthur answered and that made Eames wince. He couldn’t possibly imagine living 30 years then waking up realizing it wasn’t real. Arthur reached up with his free hand and touched Eames’ cheek - something he would do in limbo to calm Eames down, it seemed to work here too. Arthur pulled his hand away, suddenly unsure if he was allowed to touch like that. 

“I’m sorry. We’re not,” Arthur apologized, but not letting go of Eames’ hand just yet. 

“It’s okay, Dom said you’d be confused as to what’s real. Ask as many questions you need to.”

Arthur nodded but stayed silent just studying Eames’ face and felt awkward under the point man’s intense gaze and broke the silence, “What is it?” 

“You just look so . . . young,” Arthur said and Eames chuckled knowing he did not look great at the moment. 

“Why thank you, darling. You look well rested,” Eames said back, trying to keep this heavy situation light, feeling relieved when Arthur laughed. 

Then Arthur’s face fell, coming back to reality. “We aren’t-,” Arthur started and Eames knew what he meant.

“Together? No, we’re not.” Arthur took in a shaky breath and withdrew his hand from Eames’ and turned his head away, but the forger could clearly see the tears welling up in Arthur’s eyes. 

“We were together in limbo weren’t we?” Eames asked in a soft tone, not wanting to upset Arthur further. 

“Yes. I fell in love. We were so in love. And now- now it’s gone,” Arthur choked out, not able to contain his tears anymore, letting them fall freely down his cheeks. 

Eames leaned closer to Arthur, trying his best to maintain his composure, and carefully put a hand on Arthur’s. 

“It’s not gone, Arthur.” That made Arthur look back at Eames with wide and confused eyes. “Dom had said that what we make up in dreams comes from real things, real feelings. And in limbo it’s amplified.” 

“I know that,” Arthur sniffed. 

“What I’m trying to say is that those feelings are still there, and not in just you.” As Eames was talking his heart pounded, knowing that if he didn’t confess his true feelings now, Arthur would be heartbroken. That was the last thing he wanted. 

“Wha- What are you saying?” Arthur’s tears stopped but his eyes were still red and puffy. 

“I’m saying that I love you, Arthur,” Eames confidently confessed. Wanting Arthur to know that he truly meant it. 

Arthur gaped, “do you mean that?” 

Eames nodded and smiled, “I have always loved you. From the very beginning.” 

Arthur looked up at the ceiling blinking a few times and letting fresh tears - happy tears now - fall. He then reached to pull Eames by the neck until their foreheads were together. “I love you so much, Eames. I know that we’ve been dancing around this before, but I can’t anymore. Not after limbo. I can’t go back to what we were and pretend like I didn’t grow old with you.” 

“I don’t want to pretend either. I don’t know what I was so afraid of.” 

Eames pulled back just enough to look at Arthur’s face with nothing but love in his eyes. He balanced on one arm above Arthur and held his face with the other hand, wiping away the wetness from the point man’s cheek. 

“Eames?” 

“Yeah, sweetheart?” 

“Will this change anything?” There was worry in Arthur’s eyes, but Eames took it upon himself to make sure to ease that worry now and forever. 

“It’ll change everything. But I am over the moon about that,” he smiled affectionately at Arthur who returned his smile. 

“Can I kiss you?” Arthur tentatively asked. Eames’ smile spread wider as his closed the space between them and kissed Arthur fully. 

And it was just like Arthur remembered in limbo, but so much better because it was real this time. 

**Engaged**

The inception team were all together, celebrating Eames’ birthday at a classy bar that had live music and tables set up in front of a small stage. It was one of Eames’ favorite places in London because it reminded him of an old cabaret style club. 

Dom, Ariadne, Yusuf, Arthur, and Eames were sitting at a table right in front of the stage. They talked and laughed while the band played. The band was a tribute to the Big Band era, with a sax and trumpet player, playing Sinatra songs. The atmosphere was perfect. 

After the whole Arthur falling into limbo fiasco, Eames and Arthur started a full fledged relationship, to the surprise of no one. They all knew it would happen eventually. 

When the band finished “Feeling Good”, Arthur got up from the table and went to the stage and starting talking to the band. That stopped all conversation at the table and turned everyone’s focus on Arthur and what he was up to. The band started playing again, but this time it was Arthur who had the mic. The piano and guitar began to play Michael Bublé’s “Everything”. When it was time to sing, everyone’s eyes grew wide and mouths gaped open at Arthur’s voice. 

“Holy shit, did you know Arthur could sing like that?” Ariadne whispered to Eames. 

“No,” he answered not looking away from Arthur who was looking back at him. The point man was so natural on the stage, singing and swaying to the music, eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled at Eames. 

Eames’ heart fluttered and was beating fast as he heard Arthur fill the lyrics with so much love and warmth, knowing it was all for him. 

By the third repeat of the chorus, Arthur stepped off the stage and stood in front of Eames, singing only for him now. When he got to the last few lines of the song, Arthur settled onto Eames’ lap, his gaze never dropping from the forger’s, _“You’re every song, and I sing along/ Cause you’re my everything”_.

The lyrics ran out and the band played the last notes of the song as Arthur kissed Eames sweetly before getting off his lap and kneeling in front of him. Ariadne gasped as she realized what Arthur was doing before anyone else. The point man took out a ring from the pocket of his waistcoat and held it into Eames’ view. He brought the microphone to his mouth and said, “Eames, I simply cannot live without you. Will you marry me?” 

Without a word Eames pulled Arthur up and kissed him before meeting his eyes and nodding his head.

The bar’s crowd erupted into applause and whistling as all the attention was on them. 

Arthur sat on the forger’s lap again, absorbed in each other and forgetting the world around them. 

“You never fail to surprise me, Arthur,” Eames smiled. 

“I just wanted to make your birthday special,” Arthur said, cradling the back of Eames’ head. 

“It’s perfect. Thank you. I love you.” The point man smiled wide and leaned his his forehead against his fiance’s.


End file.
